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66 



CORYELL'S FERRY" 

(NOW NEW HOPE, BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.) 

in the REVOLUTION 



delivered he fore Fori Wasningion Gnapier, 
JJaugniers of ike American Revoluuon. 
Nay Zl s l, ISIS. 



BY 

OLIVER RANDOLPH PARRY 

LARGELY TAKEiST FROAV THAT BY 

RICHARD RANDOLPH PARRY 
DELIVERED. JUNE 15* 1907. 




TMB • FAi^WOOD • PRESS 
•1915- 






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"CORYELUS FERRY IN THE REVOLUTION." 

An Address delivered before the Fort Washington Chapter, Daughters 
of the American Revolution, by Oliver Randolph Parry, at Isham 
Mansion, Isham Park, 211th Street, New York City, N. Y., on 
May 21st, 1915. 

President, General, Regents and members of the Fort Wash- 
ington Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution : The 
speaker is indeed honored at being asked to deliver an address 
before your Society, near spots as historical as the Battles of 
"Fort Washington," and of "Fort Lee," fought over one 
hundred and thirty-eight years ago, and not far distant from 
the headquarters of the then Commander-in-Chief of the 
American Army of the Revolution, and subsequently the First 
President of this our glorious country. There is also a 
matter of personal sentiment in the address, about to be de- 
livered, as it has been largely taken from that delivered by 
the speaker's father before the Pennsylvania Society Sons of 
the Revolution, at "Coryell's Ferry," Pa., on June 15th, 1907, 
the occasion of their annual pilgrimage. 

To students of American History and the period of the 
Revolutionary War, this ground, as well as " Coryell's Ferry," 
is indeed most familiar, and is interwoven with that great 
struggle which culminated in the independence of the colonies 
and the permanent establishment of this our glorious country. 
At " Fort Washington" and " Coryell's Ferry," the ancestors of 
many of you here to-day, no doubt under far different and most 
trying circumstances, anxiously awaited, often doubtingly, the 
development and consummation of the warlike plans and 
designs with which both places were closely connected and 
formed a part of one hundred and thirty-eight years ago. 



GotieeU'a Jfette 



You are all familiar with the Battle of "Fort Washington" 
and the events leading up to and immediately following, which 
were so ably noted in the address at your recent Anniversary 
Meeting, by Rev. Wm. Montague Geer, S.T.D., therefore I 
will confine this address to consideration of some of those 
events, pertaining particularly to "Coryell's Ferry" (now New 
Hope, Bucks Co., Pa.) of the Revolution. 

"Coryell's Ferry," the best ferry on the Delaware River, 
north of Trenton, and located on the main line of travel from 
Philadelphia to East Jersey and New York, became at the 
commencement of hostilities at once an important strategic point 
of value to the American and British armies, both of which, on 
several occasions, were most desirous to hold and control it, and 
especially was this so just prior to the "Battle of Trenton," 
when, upon Lord Cornwallis's army failing to effect a crossing 
of the Delaware into Pennsylvania, at Trenton, a considerable 
detachment of troops was sent sixteen miles further up the 
river, to make the attempt at " Coryell's Ferry," and which 
attempt doubtless would have been successful but for the wisdom 
and foresight of General Washington, who, notwithstand- 
ing the condition of the river, and foreseeing just such a 
contingency, had planned against it, and thus defeated the designs 
of the British commander. To better realize this, however, we 
must go backward somewhat in memory to the 20th of November, 
1776, when Washington, having evacuated " Fort Lee" yonder 
on the Hudson River, and retreating before Lord Cornwallis's 
troops through New Jersey, arrived, on the 3d day of December, 
at the Eastern bank of the Delaware River, to find boats and 
floats ready to convey the American Army to Pennsylvania on 
the other side. All these had been secured by and through the 
activity of two patriotic young men, named Jerry Black and 



fn tbe "Revolution 



Captain (afterwards General) Daniel Bray, to whom, acting 
under military orders, and to their correct knowledge of every 
boat and boat owner from Trenton to Easton, General Washing- 
ton was to be, several weeks later, further indebted for the 
larger fleet procured, which ferried the Continental troops over 
the river just above the present Taylorsville, at the point now 
world famous as "Washington's Crossing." The celebrated 
painting of this perilous venture and crossing, and the many 
engravings and prints made from it since, are to be seen almost 
everywhere, in shop windows and private houses. 

Cornwallis, leisurely following our army through New Jersey, 
doubtless felt confident of its capture or destruction at this 
critical period. With the turbulent waters of the Delaware in 
front of the Continentals, and (as he supposed) no transpor- 
tation or ferriage to carry them over, with an overwhelming 
force of trained regular troops in their rear, it appeared that the 
war then and there might come to an untimely end, for the raw 
army he considered but little more than a rebellious mob. 

All attempts of the British, however, to enter Pennsylvania 
either at Trenton or "Coryell's Ferry," having failed, the two 
hostile armies remained facing each other, on opposite sides of 
the river, from the eighth to the twenty-fifth of December, 1776, 
and the cause of independence was saved, as history states. 
Lord Cornwallis (who could never have dreamed of a battle at 
Trenton), seemed to feel sure of his prey, having, no doubt, 
bright visions float through his mind of our army marching on 
to its annihilation, and but little reckoned the true picture the 
camera revealed when turned on the scene of his own troops, 
defeated and broken, many wounded and killed, stores, arms 
and cannon surrendered, and all that went to make glorious the 
battle and victory at Trenton. Many circumstances make it 



Cornell's JfertE 



appear not unlikely at this period that Cornwallis believed 
Washington would be forced to surrender his army on reaching 
the banks of the Delaware, at Trenton, and the war be of 
short duration, nor dreamed of his own sun setting at York- 
town long after. How different from this situation results 
might have been had the British succeeded in entering 
Pennsylvania at "Coryell's Ferry," we can now only imagine, 
and, with grateful hearts, be thankful. 

So sure was Cornwallis of the defeat of Washington at this 
juncture, that it has been stated he had obtained leave of ab- 
sence to return to England, and that his luggage was packed 
and ready for shipment, when a dispatch rider from Count 
Donop informed him of the Trenton disaster; and here it may 
be interesting to note that the house in which the Hessian 
commander, Colonel Rahl, died of his wounds, stood on the 
site of the present Roman Catholic Cathedral, on Warren 
Street, Trenton, on which is a tablet, reciting the fact, erected 
by the Cathedral corporation. 

It has been the popular belief that General Washington never 

was wounded, but an original letter found in an old trunk in 

Virginia, during the Civil War, would indicate differently, and 

that he must have been (at least slightly) wounded in the Battle 

of Trenton. A copy of this letter was published in the Doyles- 

town (Bucks County), Pa., Democrat of May 19th, 1899. It 

is from Colonel William Palfrey, at Newtown, Pennsylvania, 

fifth of January, 1777, an< i * s addressed to Henry Jackson, Esq., 

Boston, Mass., per Captain Goodrich, and is as follows : ' ' Doctor 

Edwards writes from Trenton that General Washington is 

slightly wounded, and General Mercer is missing," etc., etc.* 

* The original of the above noted letter now hangs upon the walls of the 
Bucks County Historical Society at Doylestown, Pa., deposited by W. W. H. 
Davis — Deceased . 



in tbe "Revolution 



New Hope, on the Delaware ("Coryell's Ferry") has much 
to make it interesting. The site of the borough was a part of a 
grant of one thousand acres to Robert Heath in a.d. 1700; 
surveyed in 1703 and 1704, and patented to R. Heath in a.d. 
1 7 10. " The Old York Road " was opened from Philadelphia to 
the Delaware in 171 1, and in 17 19 John Wells was granted by 
the Pennsylvania Assembly the privilege, for seven years, of 
establishing a ferry at New Hope, which then became known as 
"Wells' Ferry," later being termed " Coryell's Ferry," for 
George Coryell, who was the owner of half the ferry rights on 
the New Jersey side. All these rights and privileges are now 
(1915) vested in the New Hope Delaware Bridge Company, 
organized in 1811, chartered by Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 
1 8 12, and now one hundred and three years old. The grant of 
the ferry rights to John Wells expired in 1733, when John Penn, 
Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, Proprietors of the Province of 
Pennsylvania, granted Wells further rights and privileges, 
among which was the excluding and prohibiting of all other fer- 
ries within a distance of four miles above and below Wells' 
Ferry. The latter grant is recorded in Philadelphia, August 
10th, 1733, in Patent Book "A," Vol. 6, Page 185, etc., and 
certified to by C. D. Brockden, Recorder. 

The ferry rights on the New Jersey side of the river were 
granted in 1733, by King George the Second, to Emmanuel Cor- 
yell, of Am well, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, and were 
to operate a ferry, at a place called " Coates Ferry," New Jersey, 
opposite " Wells Ferry," on the Pennsylvania side, and exclud- 
ing any other person or persons from operating a ferry at this 
point. Both Wells and Coryell kept inns, or taverns, near their 
ferry landings. 

As " Wells' Ferry " the settlement was known down to 1770, 



6 dozen's ffettfi 

when it was changed to " Coryell's Ferry," as previously stat- 
ed ; and this name it bore until towards the close of the eight- 
eenth century, as a letter (still existent) to Benjamin Parry, 
addressed " Coryell's Ferry," and dated the 6th of July, a.d. 
1787, is in the possession of the speaker's father ; and in 1810 
it was described as New Hope, lately " Coryell's Ferry." An 
ancient private map of New Hope, made for Benjamin Parry, 
bears in colors as follows : "Map of New Hope, 1798." The 
change was made probably about a.d. 1790, and for reasons 
noted later on. 

Amid the present quiet and peaceful surroundings about us 
to-day, it is difficult to realize that at several periods of the Re- 
volution the whole section around Coryell's Ferry was bristling 
with arms and the tramp and tread of armed men, as our patriot 
sires advanced into, or were driven out of New Jersey, and that 
during most of the month of December, 1776 (just prior to the 
battle of Trenton), a large portion of the Continental Army were 
there and in close proximity. Within the limits of that ancient 
borough the eye rested everywhere upon the valley, hillside and 
fields, dotted with the tents of the Continental soldiers, and 
1 ' Coryell's Ferry' ' became a military camp. Within ten minutes' 
ride, below New Hope, at the Neeley (Thompson) farmhouse, 
were quartered Iyieut. James Monroe, aftewards President of the 
United States, and other officers, including Captain James 
Moore, of the New York Artillery, who died there of camp fever 
and lies buried on the farm with a number of others, including 
several officers whose graves are unmarked. Nearby, at 
"Chapman's," were General Knox and Captain Alexander 
Hamilton (killed later on by Aaron Burr in their memorable 
duel). At "Merrick's" farmhouse were General Greene and 
his staff, and the General (especially fond of good cheer) de- 



/ 



in tbe devolution 



voured the poultry, etc., on the farm, to the horror and dismay of 
the family ; while a few fields away General Sullivan and staff 
occupied the " Hay hurst " home. 

General Washington's headquarters were at the "Keith" 
house and farm, on the road from Brownsburgh (below New 
Hope) towards Newton ; and Generals Stirling and De Fermoy, 
with their troops, at "Beaumont's" and "Coryell's Ferry." 
These officers were all in close touch with each other, all watch- 
ing and waiting, eager and anxious to bear their part in the 
bloody engagement, which they well knew was near at hand. 

President Monroe never forgot his friends at the Thompson 
(Neeley) farmhouse, where he had stayed in 1776, and always 
inquired about them whenever opportunity offered. 

Captain James Moore, who died at the ' ' Neeley ' ' (Thomp- 
son) farmhouse, lies buried on the farm, with other officers, as 
stated. Their graves are enclosed within an iron fence. Out- 
side of this enclosure are a number of other graves, some with 
rude headstones set up and some without. There are at least 
eleven that are discernible to this day, and the speaker, in his 
youth, recalls having counted possibly as many as thirty un- 
marked graves outside, the latter evidently being of private 
soldiers. The tombstones of Captain Moore are the original 
ones, and are thus marked : " To ye memory of Captain James 
Moore of Ye New York Artillery, Son of Benjamin and Cornelia 
Moore, of New York. He died December ye 25th, a.d. 1776, 
aged 24 years and eight months. ' ' The headstone is much de- 
faced from chippings by relic hunters. These graves are close to 
the bank of the^Delaware River, east of the canal. At Doyles- 
town, in the rooms of the Bucks County Historical Society, 
there is a photograph of Captain Moore's grave, and my father 
has a print of it from a newspaper. 



8 CocgeU'a Jferrg 

The account comes handed down to us, as family history, that 
under " The Old Washington Tree," in New Hope, which stood 
for one hundred and fifty years on the estate of the Paxon 
family (cousins of the speaker) , of "Maple Grove," in a field 
opposite General De Fermoy's and I,ord Stirling's headquarters 
(and known as "The Old Fort "), General Washington and his 
trusted Generals, Knox, Stirling, Sullivan and Greene, first 
talked over, and first outlined, a plan for the Battle of Trenton ; 
and from the time of the Revolution to November 28th, 1893, 
when it was cut down (to make room for improvements), it was 
always known and spoken of as "The Old Washington Tree," 
from this circumstance. Incidentally, the speaker has numerous 
newspaper clippings of the time, denouncing its destruction. 

We are also informed, from the same source, that under the 
shade of this wide-spreading chestnut tree, General Washington 
and his staff stopped at noon for refreshments, in 1778, when 
his army crossed the Delaware, on its road to attack the British 
under General Clinton at Monmouth, New Jersey. 

In " Davis's History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania" (Revis- 
ed Edition), it is stated that in the spring of 1778 General 
Washington, believing that the banks of the Delaware River 
would again become the scene of conflict (in an attempt of the 
British to reach Philadelphia), appointed General Benedict 
Arnold, the traitor, to the command of the river, when "Cor- 
yell's Ferry" was again, for the second time, placed in a state of 
security, as were also the other fords and crossings of the 
Delaware. 

From Philadelphia and Branchtown to New Hope, on the Dela- 
ware, the whole line of the historic "Old York Road" connect- 
ing Philadelphia with New York, speaks to us in clarion notes 
of these stirring and eventful days, ever singing the song of the 



in tbe "Revolution 



Revolution. At Branchtown, we are reminded of the Battle of 
Germantown nearby, three American soldiers (part of a picket 
guard) being killed there in a skirmish with the British, and 
were buried upon what afterwards became the estate of the artist 
Russell Smith, who had their graves designated by headstones. 
At Hatboro, called the "Crooked Billet," in 1776 and later, 
was fought what is known as the " Battle of the Crooked Billet," 
on May 1st, 1778, when General Lacey, a Bucks County man, 
fought a strong detachment of British infantry and cavalry 
under Major (subsequently General) Simcoe unsuccessfully, and 
was almost surrounded and hardly escaped capture himself. A 
tall marble shaft at the north end of Hatboro, a few feet off the 
Old York Road, to the right (looking toward New Hope), 
commemorates this engagement, which was had, by order of 
General Howe, whose troops had been much harassed in Bucks 
County by I^acey's soldiers for some time previous. At Harts- 
ville, on the Neshaminy, one-half mile from the present village 
of Hartsville, Bucks County, Washington had his headquarters 
at a farmhouse, in which both the young Marquis de Lafayette 
and Count Pulaski reported for military duty. At Centerville 
we find "Bogart's Tavern" still standing, as in Revolutionary 
days, when the Bucks County Committee of Safety held its 
frequent meetings there. It was also General Greene's head- 
quarters at one time. 

At Buckingham, as the lifelong friend of the speaker's father, 
General W. W, H. Davis, deceased, informs us : " The Friends' 
Meeting House was used as a hospital during a portion of the 
Revolutionary War, and several soldiers were buried about 
where the turnpike crosses the hill, some of whose remains were 
uncovered when the pike was made. On Meeting days the sol- 
diers put one-half of the house in order for Friends, many of 



to Cornell's afettB 

them attending the services. Blood stains may still be seen upon 
the floor. 

" Paxon' s Corner" (now Aquetong) also has its connection 
with the days of the Revolution, for here some of the American 
soldiers stayed over-night, at the home of the then owner, Ben- 
jamin Paxon ; one of the soldiers leaving his camp-mug behind in 
the morning, which is still preserved in the Paxon family, who 
still own the property one hundred and thirty-nine years later, 
and known as " Rolling Green." 

When the soldiers were leaving, a good marksman shot off a 
branch at the very top of a tree, in front of this house on the 
Old York Road, and the disfigurement was plainly to be seen 
until very recent years. 

New Hope, on the Delaware ("Coryell's Ferry" of the Re- 
volution), the termination of the Old York Road of Penn- 
sylvania, at the Delaware River, was, as before noted, a most im- 
portant strategic point during the first few years of the Revolu- 
tionary War, and in December, 1776, became a military camp. 

General William Alexander (more commonly known as Lord 
Stirling), who, although he bore a title, was none the less an ar- 
dent American, and intensely patriotic, caused two different parts 
of the property owned by the speaker's family to be placed in a 
state of armed defense. One of these was on a hillside across 
the pond made by the Great Spring or Ingham's Creek ; and in 
its southwesterly direction from the Old Parry Mansion there, 
from a point easterly from where the yellow schoolhouse now 
stands, he had a line of earthworks thrown up, which extended 
in an easterly direction along and well up the hillside, towards 
the Delaware River. The outline of these earthworks could be 
quite plainly seen and traced, within my earliest recollection, 
but have now disappeared. At the river's brink (the termina- 



in tbe "Revolution 11 



tion of the "Old York Road" in Pennsylvania), just below, 
the ferry landing, and also a part of this property (purchased 
from the Todds), stockade entrenchments were erected, and 
batteries were placed ; as was also the case above the ferry 
landing, some distance along the river front. General Alexander 
(Lord Stirling) also had another redoubt thrown up on the Old 
York Road — at the corner of Ferry Street and the present Bridge 
Street (which latter street did not, however, then exist)— a little 
southeasterly of where the " Old Washington Tree," cut down 
November 28th, 1893, then stood. The site of this defense is 
easily recognized, being where the present Presbyterian chapel 
and an ancient stone house (both on the south side of the Old 
York Road) now stand. This stone house was once owned by 
Captain Edward F. Randolph, a "patriot of 1776" and citizen 
of Philadelphia, who purchased it for his son, Charles, then a 
practicing physician in New Hope. Captain Randolph, as first 
lieutenant in Colonel William Butler's Fourth Pennsylvania 
Regiment, Continental Army, commanded the outlying picket 
guard at ' ' The Massacre of Paoli, ' ' where he was desperately 
wounded and left upon the field for dead, escaping by the merest 
chance. A sightless eye in its socket was one of the mementos 
of that affair, which he carried with him through life. His 
portrait hangs upon the walls of the Historical Society of Penn- 
sylvania in Philadelphia, and his biography appears in " Lives of 
Eminent Philadelphians, Deceased," published over fifty-six 
years ago (1859). His sword is still in existence, and among 
the treasured possessions of his great-grandson, Evan Randolph, 
of Philadelphia. An old silver spoon, used by him in camp, and 
marked with his initial and crest, has come handed down to the 
writer's father. A fuller notice of this Revolutionary patriot 
has been prepared in an appendix to this paper. 



12 Cornell's jfertB 

At Malta Island, at the southern end of New Hope, and which 
is now main land, but was, in 1776, surrounded by water and 
covered by timber, the most of the boats were collected and 
secreted and floated down by night to Knowles Cove, above 
Taylorville, and were used in making the famous "Washing- 
ton's Crossing of the Delaware," on Christmas night and 
morning of 1776. 

At "Malta Island" these boats were watched over and 
protected by a military guard. " Malta Island" was at one time 
owned by the late Daniel Parry, a younger brother of Benjamin 
Parry, for whom the "Old Parry Mansion" was built in a.d. 
1784 ; and here it may not perhaps be inappropriate to mention 
that among many interesting events connected with this house 
was the unusual circumstance of a grandchild of its present 
owner, Richard Randolph Parry, having been born in one of its 
chambers in a.d. 1901, in the same room in which her great- 
grandfather, Oliver Parry, was born a.d. 1794, one hundred 
and seven years before, it being the same house in which her 
great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Parry, lived and died, five 
generations earlier, and this important young lady (Margaret K. 
Parry) is the daughter of the speaker. 

The importance of "Coryell's Ferry" in the Revolution can 
easily be realized and appreciated when we know the great care 
and attention which General Washington gave to it, and how 
very necessary its possession was to the American cause at 
several periods of the war. Its defences in 1776 were so well 
planned that it would have been most difficult for the British to 
have captured it ; for, even if their troops could have effected 
a landing at the Ferry, the firing by the American square in their 
faces, down the Old York Road (the only approach) at the stone 
house mentioned, and a raking' side fire from the 'hillside across 



in tbe devolution 13 

the pond, would have caused them great slaughter before they 
could have accomplished their purpose. It is much to be regret- 
ted that the old name of " Coryell's Ferry" should ever have 
been dropped. "Fort Washington," "Fort Lee," "King's 
Bridge," " Dobb's Ferry," etc., having revolutionary interest, 
have never been altered or changed. And here it may be well 
to explain how the change came about. Benjamin Parry, an in- 
fluential citizen of Bucks County and a man of means, owner of 
the " Prime Hope Mills," on the opposite bank of the Delaware 
River, in New Jersey, was also the owner of the flour, linseed oil 
and saw mills on the Pennsylvania side, at New Hope (then 
Coryell's Ferry"), which, in the year a.d. 1790, were all de- 
stroyed by fire and burned to the ground. The linseed oil mill 
was never rebuilt, but the others were, and, as the mill in New 
Jersey was termed ' ' Prime Hope, ' ' it was determined that the 
new mills is Pennsylvania should be called ' ' New Hope' ' and 
commence operations with new and fresh hopes for the future. 
With this change also came the change in the name of the vil- 
lage. A growing patriotic sentiment makes it not unlikely that 
the old name may yet be restored and New Hope again become 
known to the world by its old style of " Coryell's Ferry" ; and 
in this growing sentiment and feeling I am sure can be seen and 
felt some reflection of the patriotic efforts and work of the 
"Sons of the Revolution," Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution, and kindred bodies. Interesting spots other than those 
which have been named in New Hope — " Coryell's Ferry" — are 
the site of the "Old Fort," as the headquarters of Generals 
Stirling and De Fermoy were known, only a few yards to the 
west of the Presbyterian Chapel. 

This spot is easily known and recognized by the new hip roof 
house, which stands upon the foundations of " The Old Hip 



14 Cornell's ffettfi 

Roof House," which was termed " The Old Fort" at the time 
of the Revolution. General Alexander (Lord Stirling) was 
beloved and much trusted always by General Washington ; he 
had recently for his bravery been advanced to the rank of 
Major-General, and, as stated in " Washington and his 
Generals," Vol. I., page 175, in that capacity took part in the 
operations on the Delaware River, where he again signalized 
himself by the successful defence of " Coryell's Ferry." Lord 
Stirling was also at this period part of the time at Beaumont's 
farmhouse, next the Thompson (Neeley) place. 

Immediately across the Old York Road from the Old Fort, 
in a field of the Paxsons, troops were encamped, as well as on 
the hillside south of the pond ; and also on the river front, below 
and above the ferry ; and a strong detail at " Malta Island" 
guarded the boats collected there. On the Old York Road, near 
the ferry landing, stood in 1776, and still stands, though enlarg- 
ed, " The Ferry Tavern," which appears to have been so named 
until 1829, when it was kept by a Mr. Steele, as the speaker's 
father was informed by William Murray, of New Hope, at that 
time an aged man, and its oldest citizen, Abraham D. Meyers, 
succeeded Mr. Steel as landlord, and gave it the name of the 
" Logan House," which it has ever since retained. Since 1829 
it has had divers owners. Michael A. Van Hart, deceased, was 
owner and landlord for a long term, and until recently it was 
and may still be owned by his heirs. This old hostelry was 
much frequented in the days of the Revolution, and here, in 
December, 1776, the Continental soldiers made wassail, and 
drank to the the success of their cause and the downfall of King 
George the Third in his American Colonies. 

At the corner of "The Old York Road" and the "Old 
Trenton or River Road" (severally called Ferry Street and 



In tbe "Revolution X5 



Main Street within the borough limits), and, walking south- 
ward across the iron bridge, over the. pond, we come to the 
"Town Hall," almost opposite which, on Mechanics Street, 
stands the " Old Vansant House," believed to be the oldest 
in New Hope. On the removal of a decayed roof years ago, 
it was found full of rifle marks and bullets shot into it by a 
party of British soldiers, who passed through the village 
and encamped at "Bowman's Hill," below town, and said to 
have been in charge of gold to pay the British soldiers. Be- 
ing surprised, they left hastily, and, burying the treasure on 
top of the hill, expected to return for it some time ; but the 
chances of war or leaving the country prevented, and from that 
time to this natives dug all over the hill for the money, hoping, 
but never having found it. 

The United States Government several years ago provided 
New Hope with cannon and cannon balls, which are set up in 
the Borough as memorials of the events which occurred there in 
the " days of '76." Perhaps, as a result of the 1907 pilgrimage 
of "The Sons of the Revolution," they or some other similar 
patriotic Society may also deem some other historic spots of 
ancient " Coryell Ferry" worthy of being marked by them with 
one or more memorial tablets. 

Jericho Hill, below New Hope, joins Bowman's Hill, and, in 
addition to the interest given it from having had the quarters of 
the distinguished officers previously named located upon it, the 
crest of the hill was cleared and used as a signal station by our 
army ; and, being in winter and the trees leafless, the various 
generals easily communicated with>ach other, up and down the 
river, from this point. 

And here, in connection with the Delaware River, |I might 
mention the interesting fact that further up, near Port Jervis, 



\6 Cornell's ffertE 

there is a rock standing on which you can, at one and the same 
time, be in the three States of Pennsylvania, New York and New 
Jersey, with one foot or one hand covering the spot where 
the three States join and come together. L,et us trust that 
these three States will ever remain as united in a, some day, com- 
prehensive plan to mark their joint historical spots. 

I have endeavored to picture to you the situation at " Coryell's 
Ferry," in "the times which tried men's souls," and that they 
were most trying is evidenced in many ways ; the hardships and 
sufferings endured by our patriot sires in 1776 at "Coryell's 
Ferry," and along the banks of the Delaware River, being a fit 
preparatory school for their later and longer experience in 
1777-78 at "Valley Forge." 

The winter of 1776 was an exceptionally severe one, and the 
whole face of the country was covered with ice and snow ; the 
air was keen and biting, and the men insufficiently clothed and 
badly protected in their tents. Major Enion Williams, of the 
First Pennsylvania Rifles, stationed at the Neeley-Thompson 
farm, wrote, December 13th, 1776, that many of his men were 
barefooted, and General Washington wrote to Congress from his 
headquarters at Keith's, on December 16th, 1776, asking its 
help, and stating many of his troops were almost naked and most 
of them unfit for service. He also appealed to ' ' The Bucks 
County Committee of Safety ' ' for old clothes and blankets for 
the soldiers, which the Committee furnished, and received his 
written thanks. 

Of all the actors in these stirring scenes, not one survives to- 
day ; but the Delaware (noble river, as the Founder Penn de- 
scribed it) and the beautiful Hudson, yonder, each still flows on 
in their tireless courses to the sea, as they did in Revolutionary 
days, mute reminders of the acts and deeds performed on their 



tn tbc 'Revolution 17 

banks, and which have made their names and their memories 
imperishable. In taking leave of my subject, I might add that 
History, dealing only with plain facts, sometimes becomes dull 
and prosy; but the "Annals of the Revolution" breathe the 
very atmosphere of Poetry, Romance and History combined ; 
and, though their recital must ever be but the old, old story of 
a patriotism unsurpassed, yet to each succeeding generation it 
comes with an added freshness and interest, and into willing ears 
are poured those tales of long ago. 

Let us, of this generation, then, appreciate those deeds of our 
sires ; that made possible this great United States of America, 
through the War of the Revolution, and later kept our country 
intact, through the Civil War, and, in turn, perform our 
patriotic duty, as well and as faithfully as they who have gone 
before us. 

Each of us, in gratitude to our forbears and as a duty to our 
country, owe our best efforts to see that the Government of the 
United States of America and each of its historical States, pro- 
perly and adequately, preserve and mark the historical spots 
within its and their confines ; that the generations to follow may 
not lack for patriotic reminders to serve for all time as an 
incentive to equally great patriotism. 

Such monuments of gratitude live forever as object lessons in 
patriotism, not alone to us of this generation, but to those to 
follow, and further serve to install that love of country our 
ancestors possessed and which history teaches us is so necessary 
for the unity and preservation of all nations. 

Without detracting from the greatness of Valley Forge — the 

winter quarters of the Continental Army in my own State of 

Pennsylvania — the speaker remains sensible of the fact that 

there would have been no " Valley Forge;" nor "Battle of 

2 



18 Cornell's jFerrg 

Trenton," nor other similar historical spots of later date — which 
were the trying points in the struggle of the Revolution — had 
not Washington with his Continental Army performed the 
remarkable and unexpected feat of crossing the Delaware and 
camping at " Coryell's Ferry" and adjacent sections, thus making 
possible the subsequent events that ultimately brought Victory. 

" Coryell's Ferry" should have, in addition to the Government 
cannon, small parks or squares at the river bank ; where " the 
Old Fort" and " Washington's Chestnut Tree" stood, at 
" Malta Island," etc.; with special markings on each and every 
historical building and spot, whilst the Revolutionary grave- 
yard, a short distance down the river at Neeleys and ' ' Knowles 
Cove," a short distance below, should with "Washington's 
Crossing," be turned into parks while land is still held at farm 
valuation. 

In this connection it is of interest to recall, that our sister 
State of New Jersey, at a meeting held in Trenton to celebrate 
the first Columbus Day as a State legal holiday, called upon 
Governor Fort, then the Chief Executive of the State, to appoint 
a representative Committee to bring the matter of a national 
park at " Washington's Crossing," to the attention of the people 
of the State and of the nation, and that, subsequently, the com- 
mittee not having accomplished much in the way of results, the 
State legislature of 191 2, under Governor Wilson (now President 
Woodrow Wilson of the United States) , passed a bill supersed- 
ing it and creating a much smaller commission, composed of the 
Governor, Controller, and Treasurer of the State, with Colonel 
William I/ibby, of Princeton, the Rev. Jesse Joralemon, of Jersey 
City, Mr. I,. V. Silver, of Trenton, Mr. Charles Blackman, of 
Atlantic City, and Mr. William 1,. Doyle, of Trenton. 

This Committee procured a plan for the erection of a monu- 



In tbe "Revolution 19 

ment ; purchased the Blackwell farm of one hundred acres along 
the road upon which the Continental Troops marched from the 
the river bank to headquarters at "Bear Tavern," engaged a 
competent landscape engineer to prepare plans for the proposed 
park and its environments, entered into negotiations for other 
land, and applied to the State legislature for an additional 
appropriation to the twenty-five thousand dollars originally 
granted. It is to be regretted that the Legislature did not see 
its way clear to pass this appropriation, and doubly so that the 
great State of Pennsylvania should not have found a way to 
overcome the " legal obstacles," and appoint a joint committee 
to act with the Committee from the State of New Jersey. 

With the change in Governors and, I trust, an awakening to 
the importance of suitably marking this spot with a Park, equal 
to that contemplated for the New Jersey shore, and connecting 
both with a substantial and artistic memorial bridge, the State of 
Pennsylvania will also make a start, and thus, with evidence of 
earnestness, upon the part of both States, be united in a position 
to successfully call the National Government's attention to this 
need. 

Starting, here, in New York, the movement of the Continental 
Troops, during the struggle for freedom, particularly the 
" Old York Road" connecting us with Philadelphia, and which 
was the direct stage-coach and shortest route between these two 
points, should be properly and adequately marked by archways, 
ornate bridges, tablets, milestones, etc., all of Colonial design. 
Likewise the entire roadway should reflect appreciation and be 
constructed of the very best and most lasting materials, and 
with the markings, reflect the true American patriotism of 
Nineteen Hundred and Fifteen. Let those who owe single 
allegiance to our country think, well and long, over the effect 



20 Cotfieire ffettB 

nationally upon the country at large, were our good citizens to 
rise and make possible this Colonial Roadway as an evidence of 
their patriotism. 

You, ladies, whose maternal ancestors bore the patriots of 
"76," could well afford to devote a portion of your spare time 
to such a course as the marking of what was to many of your 
sires their graves and to others the scenes of their suffering. 
It would seem, to the speaker, as though the women patriots 
could best undertake this great movement for marking those 
scenes and incidents of the Revolutionary days ; now over one 
hundred and thirty-eight years ago. 

I appeal to you, Daughters of the American Revolution, as a 
Patriotic Society, to require a pledge from those who may be 
candidates for future political offices, that they will use their in- 
fluences to pass any or all bills brought before their various 
Legislative bodies proposing to suitably mark the hallowed 
ground upon which trod " THE CONTINENTAL ARMY OF 
'76." 

May we have other pilgrimages, similar to the recent one of 
of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, marking 
the route taken by General Washington from Philadelphia to 
Cambridge, Mass., to assume command of the CONTINENTAL 
ARMY, June 2 2d to July 2d, 1775. Perhaps you ladies might 
find fit to make such a pilgrimage over the Old York Road to 
Philadelphia, diverting your route at " Coryell's Ferry" to take 
in " Washington Crossing," before proceeding on to the " City 
of Brotherly Love." 



in the -Revolution 2l 



APPENDIX. 
Edward F. Randolph. 
Note :— The Captain Randolph mentioned earlier in this 
paper as owner of an ancient stone house on the "Old York 
Road," marking a historic spot, was a brave and gallant officer 
in the Revolutionary War, about whom much might be said and 
written. As previously noted, as First Lieutenant in Colonel 
William Butler's Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, Continental 
Army, he commanded the outlying guard at " The Massacre of 
Paoli," where he was desperately wounded and left upon the 
field for dead. Doctor Stille's " Major-General Wayne and the 
Pennsylvania Line" mentions that Colonel William Butler's 
Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment received the attack of the enemy 
at Paoli, but, in speaking of the officer in command of the picket 
guard, omits to mention his name, although he places Lieuten- 
ant Randolph correctly in Colonel William Butler's Regiment. 
This omission I am glad to be able to supply now and to state 
that the officer was First Lieutenant Edward F. Randolph, who, 
later in life, dropped the use of the " F" in his name. These 
facts are well known to almost all old Philadelphians (including 
the late John Jordan, Jr., Esq., President of the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania), and are also recited in the "Lives of 
Eminent Philadelphians, Deceased," published fifty-six years ago 
(1859). Actuated only by patriotic motives, Captain Randolph 
gave his services to his country without pay ; and when Gover- 
nor Corwin, of Ohio (whose wife was Sarah Randolph Ross), 
became connected with the Randolph family, and during his 
term of office as Secretary of the United States Treasury under 
President Filmore, he, on divers occasions, informed Captain 
Randolph's children that they could readily obtain his back pay 



22 Cornell's tfeviy 



if they wished ; but they, of course, never would accept what 
their father, from high, patriotic motives, had declined to 
receive. Two of Captain Randolph's grandsons (General 
Wallace F. Randolph and Major Edward Randolph Parry), both 
officers of the regular army, served through the whole of the 
late Civil War, and both were breveted for gallantry. 

One of Captain Randolph's swords is still in existence and 
among the treasured possessions of his great-grandson, Evan 
Randolph, of Philadelphia, and an old silver spoon used by him 
in camp and marked with his initial and crest, has come handed 
down to the speaker's father. In his full regimentals as a Con- 
tinental officer, he was married, March 16th, 1779, to Anna Juli- 
anna Steele, and the silk wedding gown she then wore has de- 
scended to the speaker's father and is still preserved. It was 
worn by a great-granddaughter at a " Kirmess " at the Phila- 
delphia Academy of Music, December 16, 1884, and attracted 
much attention, and was afterwards described in the newspapers. 

Like Colonel Owen Biddle, another Revolutionary patriot, 
Captain Randolph later adopted the teachings and methods of 
the Friends (Quakers), and did not care to refer to his military 
life in his younger days. Though sitting at the head of the 
Friends meeting, as he did, it was always said he could never, in 
walking up the aisle, entirely divest himself of the stride and 
tread of the soldier. Joseph Kite, a Quaker poet, and author of 
the "Arm Chair," wrote verses upon the death of Edward 
Randolph, the first verse thus referring to his terrible wounds 
at Paoli : — 

Edward Randolph. 

' ' Strong in thy will and purpose — earlier life, 
Saw thee a combatant in martial strife — 
Where drums and trumpets fired the angry mood 
With honors rife, and garments rolled in blood." 



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in tbe devolution 23 

In former times all the voting in Philadelphia was done in the 
State House, Sixth and Chestnut Streets, making a large crowd 
(and often disorderly), with a long wait for one's turn in the 
voting line. As Mr. Randolph was very tenacious of his voting 
privilege, he made it a point to always cast his vote, and was 
therefore well known at the polls ; and when he became an old 
gentleman, it was customary to pass him ahead through the line 
to the voting window, as a matter of courtesy and out of respect 
for his age and military history, with which many persons were 
familiar. On one occasion, however, on stepping out of his car- 
riage at the polling place, when it was proposed passing him 
ahead as usual, a raw Irishman, not long in the country, object- 
ed, saying, " Where was the likes of you, anyhow, Old Quaker, 
when fighting was done, and this nation was made, that we 
should stand back for you. " To which Mr. Randolph, turning 
his one eye upon the man, quietly replied, " Well, friend, I was 
where thee would not have dared to have shown thy naked 
nose." This was too much for the Irishman, who, amid the 
jeers and laughter of the crowd, made a hasty retreat, and Mr. 
Randolph was passed on and cast his vote. 

Strange as it may seem to the younger generation of Philadel- 
phia, in these days of a great overgrown city, his town house 
was on Second Street, near Arch, and his country seat at what 
is now Eleventh and Master Streets ; and the writer's father, 
when a young lad, made many a short cut to it (over the open 
fields) from Ninth and Green Streets. For some years the old 
mansion stood high up in the air, near the corner of Eleventh 
and Master, when streets were opened and cut through the 
estate. 

After the war, as a member of the firm of Coates and Ran- 
dolph, he became largely interested in the East India shipping 



24 Cornell's jfewfi 

trade, and, as was then the custom, the church bells of the city 
were rung when an East India vessel arrived safely in port, a 
voyage then, in the days of sailing vessels, often taking months 
to accomplish. 

A portrait in oil of Captain Randolph, painted by Robert 
Street, hangs on the walls of the Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
vania, in Philadelphia. Judge Mitchell, of the Pennsylvania 
Supreme Court, some years ago had an engraving made from 
this portrait, and one hundred impressions taken from it for 
private distribution only, and the plate was then destroyed. 
One of these the speaker's father has in his library. 

From Captain Randolph have descended many of the most 
prominent citizens of Philadelphia and New York of to-day. 




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